Let’s start with an easy, no-knead recipe for Dutch Oven Bread, a delicious dipper for a hearty soup such as Split Pea-Barley from the original “Kosher Palette” or Eating Well’s Very Green Lentil Soup. But this is the time of year I like to put my slow cooker to use, freeing up the cooktop for other dishes. I make a variation of Taste of Home’s crockpot Vegetable Lentil Soup featuring butternut squash:

Vegetable Lentil Soup

Yield: About 4 quarts

Ingredients:

• 6 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash
• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon each dried basil and dried oregano
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (14 ½-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• 16 ounces frozen cut green beans

Directions:

1. Place everything through broth in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until lentils are tender, about 4 hours.
2. Stir in tomatoes, flavorings and green beans. Cover and cook on high about 30 minutes to heat through.

A wonderful and deliciously warming entrée is Flash-Braised Chicken Breasts with Apples, which I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

For those who don’t eat meat, serve Everything Spice Roasted Salmon. I make a variation of Elizabeth Kurtz’s recipe, and the crispy fried onions in the topping are not really optional; however, crush them well so they adhere with the rest of the topping.

A pretty and seasonal side for the autumn table is Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes, which I found on AOL:

Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1. Pierce each potato in several places with a fork and roast in oven until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.
2. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand until cool enough to handle. Slip off the skins and slice potatoes thickly; transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add vegan butter and smash potatoes with potato masher until fluffy but still lumpy. Add maple syrup and seasonings; fold through to combine.

Now the salad, a simple bowl of winter greens which sets off the meal perfectly. Mix baby kale with radicchio in a Dijon vinaigrette, and toss in salted, toasted pepitas.

For a fitting fall finale, nothing is prettier or tastier than Andrea Updyke’s Easy Apple Cider Cake. It is indeed easy, and as you know, I am all about a great kitchen hack at this delicious time of year.

So from our home to yours, b’ta’avon; enjoy autumn with a cozy meal!

And may we hear only b’sorot tovot soonest.

Dorene Richman has taught cooking classes, written recipe columns, and was the recipe testing coordinator for the original award-winning “Kosher Palette” cookbook. She is a passionate cook and baker for whom cooking is therapy, as well as being a pescatarian, so no meat recipes are featured. For the rest of the above recipes, she can be reached at [email protected]